scroll saw purchase advice needed please

[Sean]

Hello,

First of all let me say 'Great Site'.
Like so many others I am looking to purchase a scroll saw and was wondering if anyone would care to comment on what I am looking at so far. Keep in mind that I have no saw experience with scroll. So I really don't know what to look for.

Delta SS250 is one unit at our Canadian Tire Store for 199.00

Craftsman 21620 from Sears at 299.00

Would any of these be good first time choices?

Thank you,

sean

[Iain]

The Delta would be a good choice but I cannot comment on Craftsman as it not available here but many USA BB's refer to the product in general as Crapsman which in itself tells a story.
For not much more the Dewalt DW788 would be available (about $400 I think) and some stores sell reconditioned units which I believe carry an as new warranty.
Just my AU$0:02 worth including GST.

[Dean]

I've got the Delta SS250
Very happy with it so far.

Delta SS250 Review:
http://www.onlinetoolreviews.com/reviews/deltass250.htm

[fxst]

For what its worth my hegna is proving to be the best investment made but I must admit the makita was a good buy as well at the time tho blade changes where a bit fiddly.
definately go for a variable speed tho if at all possible
Pete

[oges]

i will have to agree with Iains comment also. few groups I talk to most do not recommend the Craftsman, have seen some favourable comments on the Delta though.

but for the price of the dewalt over there, its usually best to pay the extra for that in the long run if you can afford it

[professori_au]

Hi folks,

Thanks for the comments regarding the Excalibur scroll saw and advice on learning to use a scroll saw.
Regarding the use of packing tape. I think it will work and will try it. Thank you.
However, as I am using general grade ply wood, I suspect that with some of it it will break out when you remove the tape.

That is why I contemplated trying the Estapol stain to bind the fibres. I have had success using it for many other problems. e.g. wanting to stain a background and then fitting a frame on the front. I have used it as a glue and it worked very well and did not damaged the stain as glue can. In fact, it worked so well that the timber fibres tore out when I tried to dismantle the test piece.

I and my wife have had an interest in young people all of our married life (38 years) until her passing in 2000. As a result of taking many of them into our home we finished up with a very large extended family. These young people we called sons and daughters of the heart:)

Now regarding top end or low end scroll saws.

One daughter (Daughter of the Heart) has a Riobi scroll saw bought in 1995. It frustrated her no end when she first got it. She still has difficulty getting the tensions correct and breaks blades. There does not appear any rules apart from personal experience.

She thought that there must be something wrong with it.
I said to her that could happen even with the high end saws as well. You have to persevere. I tried the saw out and it worked fine:)

My background is pretty diverse. I have been a farmer and owned an engineering business and later a manufacturing business. From there I became a consultant, entering the government service as a consultant and finally taking a permanent position as a Public Servant. Once I retired, I continued to work as a volunteer community advocate and as a hobby started to learn wood carving, wood turning and making furniture, both full size and minature. Now I am contemplating trying fretwork.

My daughter (D of the H) was introduced to me by one of my other daughters and I was asked could I help her as she was facing deportation as she had left her husband due to domestic violence.

A sad story and an indictment on government policy regarding the outcome of marriage breakdowns between spouses of different countries but that is too long a story and not relevant here.

I took the case on and after about 3-4 years we were able get her residency as she was the sole carer for her three Australian born children.

The children were just babies, (2 1/5, 3 1/2 and a few weeks old) when I first met them and over the years I have become Opa (grand dad to them). Despite their disabilties they are very beautiful children.

As an interest and hobby she wanted to learn woodowrk and is now my woodwork apprentice:) However, I do not teach her in the convential way how to do the job but leave her to try for herself.

She is very intelligent and has a good analytical mind, so really is quite capable of teaching herself. Some people learn better when they are left alone to figure things out.
For them, you are more useful once they have looked and analysed the subject and can ask better questions.
I loan her my books and let her play around. When she comes across a problem she can't solve then I can help her.

She can be pretty stroppy when frustrated:) (don't we all?) and one day she said "Dad why don't you get angry with me?"

I told her that it is pointless worrying about things you can't control. It is better to concentrate your energies on what you can. Don't let your emotions control you. That is the way to failure. Later you will frequently find the problems become easier when they cool down.

I told she could get as stroppy as she liked. I promised not to take any notice and would leave her alone until she cooled down:)

It is an excellent working arrangement and we are good pals, because we can talk on almost any subject.

The skill of not becoming emotionally involved was a skill I found useful while working in Industrial Relations, i.e. distance yourself from the problem and don't get involved. That is your task as a mediator.

Tonight when I spoke to her she was extremely frustrated. She makes minature houses and the furniture to go in them. She does some beautiful work and she wanted to encourage her daughters by making some minature shops for them to decorate. When I rang her she was having a lot of trouble with the scroll saw and was about to give it away. She had 100 windows to cut out of the walls.

I said, "you took on the task and you can't disappoint the kiddies. Be patient and stick at it and it will work. I won't offer to help or take it over until it is apparent you are unable to solve it, then we will look at it together and sort it out".

She is not a quitter and I have no doubt she will work it out. She is a sole parent with three disabled children she is to be greatly admired. With the particular disabilities of her children she is on duty 24/7 and does not get around much as a result.

She was interested in woodwork and asked if I could teach her. She has finally settled on making minatures and carving characters. She loves the architecture and the history of each antique house she builds.

I helped her by making her minature carving chisels, workbench and other tools. Her pension does not leave much, so, although I am on an aged pension (76 year young), I still help in any way I can.

At the moment a lot of my time involves ripping timber down to meet the miniature sizes. The homes are 1/12 scale.

I too, buy from Jim Carroll but my budget controlled what I could afford to buy in the saw. Originally I had budgeted for around $500 and set myself the target but they kept going up in price until the excalibur was over $1,000+ and rumour said they were over $1,300 in the States. I was able to buy the excalibur for $995 while it was on a special.

As we all know, buying the tool does not stop there:( . It is a bit like hire purchase:) There are all of the bits and pieces to make a project as well as the books and magazines. I found Jim and his people very pleasant and helpful to deal with.

My daughter and I make regular visits to the store, once we have some funds saved.

Well enough of the treatise. Sorry if I am boring you. I have got off track a bit on the subject low end versus high end scroll saws:)
Regards
professori_au

[hawkinob]

Hi,
Know nothing about a Craftsman - wrong part of the world - but Steve, the guy with the 'Blog', has a couple of short videos about one. Also he is running a competion with a Craftsman as the prize.
Try ;- http://scrollsawworkshop.blogspot.com/

Hope it helps.
Bob H.

[Mike Wingate]

I started off with a Dremel scrollsaw. Rubbish. I replaced it with a Hegner machine, and have been running that without any problems for the last 25 plus years. At school we have had Delta, the blade holders kept on breaking, and recently Chinese Axminster products that leap about the place. The Hegner was expensive, but it is precise and quiet. It cut steel shotgun triggers with the right blade and cuts both wood and plastic faultlessly. I think my blades are "Goldsnail", I bought hundreds years ago and they are still going strong.

[keju]

I've been using a Delta 4 years now , liked it so much I got a hold of one of the last ones available last year even tho I really didn't need it yet....
I use these saws every day, I even give lessons on these..... and I have never ever had a blade holder break!
Granted it takes a little work to set the Delta up... seems out of the box they need a bit of TLC..... but once you got them up and running, greased and set right... they are wonderful work horses!

As for blades.. I still get mine from Harris Traders [email protected]
they are very fast, friendly and have great prices. They also give good advice for newbies as to what blades they need.

Juvy